The Rat Trap

The Rat Trap description

Noel Coward's first play, The Rat Trap is back, revised by Bill Rosenfield.

Billed as 'startlingly moving but full of customary sparkling wit and dark humour', this is Sir Noël Coward's first ever play. Given a dazzling revival by Bill Rosenfield, an American playwright who lives in the UK, this new production celebrates the play's centenary year.

The action is presented by Troupe (The Forsyte Saga Parts 1 and 2) and the story goes like this; the scene is fashionable Belgravia during the roaring 1920s. Sheila is a talented novelist and Keld, her husband, is a playwright with grand ambitions. Both are determined to succeed but when his career takes off and hers doesn't, his affair and her professional jealousy have devastating effects on their relationship.

Written in 1918, when the playwright was just 18 years old, this four-act drama wasn't staged until late 1926, running for 12 performances at the Everyman Theatre, Hampstead, by which time Coward's reputation was sealed as a rising playwright thanks to the success of The Vortex. He called it his "first really serious attempt at psychological conflict". There was a professional revival at the Finborough Theatre, a London fringe venue in Earl's Court, back in 2006, directed by Tim Luscombe, and it received its American Premiere in 2022 with Mint Theater Company.

Sir Noёl Coward (1899-1973) was an actor, playwright, screenwriter, composer, lyricist, artist, novelist, short story writer, poet, and cabaret artist. Responsible for The Vortex, Hay Fever, Easy Virtue, Bitter Sweet, Private Lives, Fallen Angels, Cavalcade, Design for Living, Tonight At 8.30, This Happy Breed, Present Laughter, Blithe Spirit, Sail Away, Nude With Violin and A Song at Twilight, his witty, scathing, observant work still delights audiences.

Walk this way for tickets to a Coward classic about a wife's attempts to keep her marriage stable, her husband's philandering, her departure, and his attempts to win her back.

Playing at Park Theatre

Clifton Terrace, Finsbury Park, London, N4 3JP GB (venue info)

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